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Thanksgiving

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving Leftover Strategy

Is the thought of endless turkey sandwiches making you lose your appetite for leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Beat the leftover turkey blues and think beyond the sandwich with casseroles, turnovers and salads.

Thanksgiving leftovers can become a blessing or a curse. Granted, the venerable turkey sandwich is a treat, but after a day or two, they're boring. While turkey sandwiches might be the perennial favorite, there are dozens of ways to use up leftover turkey. Leftovers, or what some cooks refer to as "planned over" meals, begin with a plan. Pick recipes that are easy to make while creating a new dish that isn't immediately recognized as including leftovers. Chili, enchiladas and pastas are excellent examples ways to use leftover cooked turkey.  Think past the turkey. Thanksgiving's traditional sides can find new life in countless recipes. For example, I use leftover sweet potatoes to make a cream of sweet potato soup and those mashed potatoes…

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving in St. Louis Tweets

Thanksgiving in St. Louis brings back all sorts of emotions. Here are some of those emotions expressed in <140 characters. Keep tweeting, and we'll keep adding you to our list.

The Ghosts of Turkeys Past: Thanksgiving Day Disasters

Patch editors share their embarrassing holiday fails and invite you to add yours.

The Turkey That Wouldn't Go Away I was a newlywed, cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner for extended family. My mother, my sister and myself were crowded into a tiny kitchen at our University City apartment, bumping into each other and generally getting into each other's way. Bags and boxes and pans were stacked in any available inch of space. My husband's grandmother had given us a large covered roaster pan, and for seven months, it had been taking up space in the cabinet. Now, I finally got to use it. Not well, however, as I remember the turkey was rather dry. But we could always count on my mother's dressing being perfect and the sweet potatoes having just the right amount of marshmallow topping. We gave the kitchen "a lick and a …

Discovering Thanksgiving: Separating Fact from Fiction

The romanticized image of pilgrims gathered around the table set with an oversized turkey and pumpkin pie is how we define Thanksgiving. In reality, venison along with lobsters and scrawny wild turkeys are the elements of Plymouth's 1621 feast.

"Visitors to Plimoth Plantation are often surprised when we don’t look like a Hallmark card, dressed in big hats and with buckle shoes," said Kathleen Wall, who oversees Plimoth Plantation’s colonial foodways programs. "They’re also surprised to learn that the 1621 Thanksgiving doesn’t resemble the holiday that’s celebrated today." In 1621, Thanksgiving was a harvest festival in the early fall, probably October. It celebrated the economics of having enough to eat, a serious concern for the settlers who nearly starved to death during their first year. Plimoth's harvest festival never was a day of thanksgiving; a day of thanksgiving was a religious day of prayer and fasting. Another historical fact that seems to upset visitors is that …

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving Turkey Tactics

Thanksgiving turkey no longer has to be roasted. This year, expand your turkey repertoire and try brining, frying or smoking this Thanksgiving bird.

The Thanksgiving countdown has begun. Time to tackle the turkey. It’s a task many avoid, since the thought of preparing a whole turkey seems to be an unattainable culinary feat. However, cooking turkey isn’t difficult, it just takes a little planning. Begin by deciding on the cooking style: traditionally roasted, brined or fried. For those looking to save time, consider fried turkey. Frying takes about 60–90 minutes as compared to the hours it takes to roast a stuffed whole turkey. If you’ve never deep-fried a turkey, here are the basic rules. Follow the operation directions on the fryer/cooker and check with your local fire department for safety tips. While electric turkey fryers are available and are safer, most gobblers are still fried …

Traffic Ahead: MoDOT Workers Take Off Thanksgiving

All MoDOT work to stop at noon on Wednesday.

We opened up the horror stories to travel of the Thanksgiving sort this week. Traffic Troublemakers A local Patch employee relates an airport horror: An hour to get through security in terminal 2 at Lambert, and everyone had two, three, four bags plus carryons and laptops! AND lots of hollering kiddos in every other aisle of the packed plane ;-) Another Patcher recalls a road trip back to college (Michigan State) after the long weekend, driving the Ford LTD wagon on 2-lane roads. His brother was driving, the Patch guy was dozing in the shotgun seat, until he's awakened by the roar of the V-8 automatically downshifting to second, taking off like a rocket. The brother was passing, uphill, across a double-yellow. The adrenaline rush lasted a …

Monday, November 21, 2011

Let Someone Else Do The Cooking This Thanksgiving

Several West County restaurants will be open Thanksgiving day. Restaurant offerings include traditional Thanksgiving fare, regular menu items and evening cocktails.

Town and Country-Manchester Uncle Bill's Pancake and Dinner House  Time: Uncle Bill's will be open regular hours, but serving its special Thanksgiving meals only until 10 p.m. Pricing: The cost for the Thanksgiving special is $12.95. Menu: Enjoy classic Thanksgiving foods such as turkey, ham, yams, dressing, mashed potatoes and various desserts.   The Country Club Time: Open in the evening, 7 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Pricing: Regular menu prices Menu: Open for drinks only Ruby Tuesday  Time: Ruby Tuesday will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pricing: Regular menu prices Menu: Usual menu offerings Chesterfield   Yia Yia's European Cafe Time: Seating will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pricing: The cost for adults is $24.99. The cost for children ages 5 …

Friday, November 18, 2011

Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

Deep-fried or roasted, these recipes will produce a tasty turkey for your Thanksgiving table.

Southern Deep-Fried Turkey Thaw turkey completely. Clean out cavity, discarding giblets and neck. Cut off wing tips and tail. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry. In a medium bowl, combine vinaigrette, sherry and seasonings. Strain the marinade, then place in an injection syringe. Inject the marinade in the turkey breast, thighs and legs. Place turkey in a food-safe, plastic bag and refrigerate for 2 hours. Turn the bag over and massage the turkey to work the marinade into the meat. Remove form bag, drain and pat dry. Place fryer/cooker outside, placed on level ground and in an open space away from the house. Never use a turkey fryer indoors, in a garage or under a covered patio due to potential fire hazard. Add oil to a 7 to 10 …

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Cancer Survivor and Cooking Instructor Shares Vegan Holiday Recipe

Caryn Dugan, who teaches plant-based, whole-foods cooking in Town and Country, explains how to make chickpea couscous with cashews.

A plant on every plate—that’s Caryn Dugan’s mission, and it can be a hard one to follow during the holidays. In the onslaught of turkey, stuffing and sweets, Dugan, a vegan cooking instructor in Town and Country, offered a simple and tasty vegetable side recipe: chickpea couscous with cashews. “Don’t be fooled by the list of ingredients,” Dugan said. “Once the vegetables are soft, you add a few more items, turn off the heat and cover until the liquid is absorbed. It’s as close to a fix-it-and-forget it as you can get on the stovetop.” Dugan’s quest for a healthy diet started after college, when she said she decided to “clean up her act” and stop eating the junk food that fuels so many students. She had been eating prepackaged, low-calorie…

Tracey Eakin

5:51 pm on Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Great article and the recipe sounds delicious! I am a Plant-Based Nutrition Counselor and I blog on Peters Patch. There seem to be a lot of us out there on the various Patches educating people about the enormous benefits of a low-fat, plant-based lifestyle. Best of luck to you!!!   more ›

Thursday, November 25, 2010

How Your Local Leaders are Spending the Holiday

Patch asked your city leaders how they're spending Thanksgiving.

While many in Town and Country and Manchester are spending today with their families, we wanted to know how our local leaders were spending the day, so we asked them. Question: How are you spending this Thanksgiving? Answer: "My sister called and she's going to have Thanksgiving for my side of the family.  I asked if I could bring anything.  She said, "Turkey."  I'll probably bring one or two. So that's what we're doing." -Lt. Tim Walsh, Acting Police Chief with Manchester Police Department "Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with the family.  It's a family time." -Chief John Copeland, Town and Country Police Department "I've got a tradition that started many years ago, getting a bunch of family and friends together to play football in the …

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